This weekend program provides visitors with an opportunity to listen to an astronomy talk and enjoy stargazing. Visitors will spend time in both the main building and observatory visiting the 1.88m (74") telescope, learning its history and getting to see celestial objects firsthand (weather permitting).

In July 2015, the New Horizons spacecraft flew past Pluto, photographing the last unexplored major body in our solar system. Taking over 25 years from its original conception to its phenomenal photographic fly-by, New Horizons upended the space industry. We will explore the story behind the most unlikely expedition into our solar system, the development of the mission from scrap paper to the spacecraft itself.

Last year we introduced Soapbox Science to North America and we couldn’t be more excited for this year’s Toronto event! Our organizing team is preparing for another fabulous day in September at Toronto’s Word on the Street Festival. What better way to promote science in the streets than at a literacy street festival? Last year we engaged hundreds of families along Toronto’s Harbourfront; they were surprised and delighted to have the chance to meet our scientists in person and learn about their research.

This weekend program provides visitors with an opportunity to listen to an astronomy talk and enjoy stargazing. Visitors will spend time in both the main building and observatory visiting the 1.88m (74") telescope, learning its history and getting to see celestial objects firsthand (weather permitting).

In this talk and slide show, Michael Watson will discuss his recent month-long trip to Australia, which included several nights of stargazing and astrophotography from the dark skies of the Australian Outback. He will talk about how he prepared for the trip, the equipment that he took, and how he produced the photos that you will see. His astrophotos will be interspersed with photos of some of the sights from around the Land Down Under.

Dr. Avery Broderick will provide a highly accessible and interesting lecture on the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) and international efforts to interpret horizon-resolving images of numerous supermassive black holes.

The South Pole, one of Earth’s most isolated outposts, is alive with science. And it's here where you'll find the 10-metre South Pole Telescope (SPT) observing the oldest light in our Universe, the Cosmic Microwave Background—light emitted just after the Big Bang. In 2016, a next-generation microwave camera, SPT-3G, was installed on the telescope. This camera is allowing astronomers to map out the Cosmic Microwave Background in more detail than ever before, providing new information on clusters of galaxies, cosmic inflation, and particle physics. 

Every day, as many as 1,000 extremely fast and powerful bursts of radio waves flash out of the sky from beyond our galaxy, and we know very little about them. Join Victoria Kaspi, Director of CIFAR’s Gravity & the Extreme Universe program, as she explains what we know, and describes a revolutionary new Canadian radio telescope that will soon help us solve the puzzle. Doors open at 6:30pm.

Everyone is invited to join us and Durham Skies on October 12 for stargazing at the edge of Lake Ontario. Take a free look through different kinds of telescopes (including solar-filtered scopes) to get close-up looks at sunspots, craters on the Moon, Saturn and its rings, and rosy Mars. Peer deep into space and try your hand at spotting faint star clusters and nebulae. You can even bring your own telescope along and we'll give you expert advice on how to use it better.

The red planet and the ringed gas giant are waiting for you among the stars. In celebration of World Space Week, observe Mars and Saturn* up close through a telescope. Launch a bottle rocket. Meet a real-life rocket scientist. Enjoy a special screening of the Journey To Space IMAX® film. World Space Week celebrates scientists and space explorers from around the globe whose work has helped humankind. This year, the theme is “Space Unites The World.”